Yei
by EnviousIndividual
Summary: Yei had always been an outcast. She never had a real family. What happens when Sasuke and his group capture her because she is one of the last jinchuuriki?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, this is my second fanfiction, but I'm still working on the first one. This isn't supposed to be AMAZING. It's just something I started writing because I was bored. If you don't like it, I don't mind if you complain. It doesn't really follow the plot completely, and there may be some misspelled words. If you do read this, I would appreciate if you told me what needs improving. Thank you! :D**

**Insert standard disclaimer here**

"Stop right there." A cool voice said behind me, I felt sharp cold metal press against my throat menacingly.

"Sasuke." I said formally, "It didn't take you very long."

He was silent. I waited for him to respond.

"I wouldn't be talking that way." a shrill voice that probably belonged to Karin said, "You're about to die."

"I know that." I sighed, "I'm just worried about Naruto."

Karin snorted, "You're a freak!" she sneered.

"Go ahead." I smiled wryly, "Kill me then."

I waited a bit longer. The seconds that passed felt like hours.

Something hard slammed up against my head with a loud thunk, knocking me unconsious. So they weren't even going to let me be awake when I was dying. I wondered if Naruto was alright, Akatsuki was probably after him. After all, we had been the only jinchuriki left.

I had known Sasuke ever since we were gennin. I had been the only girl who wasn't one of his many adoring fans. My mother had died when I was born, and my father was a power-crazed fool. I became an orphan when our villiage was attacked by one of the neighboring clans. It was only to be expected. We were all idiots.

_It was raining. I could hear the muffled screams of my villiage outside of my prison. I wondered if I would starve to death. I couldn't care less about my clan. They only needed me as a weapon. _

_I was a monster. Maybe I would see my mother in heaven. I would like that. _

_"Is someone in there?" a kind voice asked._

_"Yes." I croaked, I hadn't been fed in days. They had already been trying to starve me to death. My father had no use for me anymore._

_"You're only a child." It was an old man, who had come to take refuge in the cramped hole that had been my home for years._

_I grimaced, "I'm a monster." _

_The man nodded in understanding, he didn't seem to be afraid. _

_"I have some chakra left." he seemed to be debating with himself, "You should stand back."_

_I crawled to the very corner, and shut my eyes. Maybe he was going to kill me, not make me have to go through any pain. I wouldn't mind that._

_The thick metal bars suddenly bended, creating a small hole. He was setting me free._

_"Thank you." I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. _

_"I'm glad I can do something right before I die." the man replied._

_"Wait." I said, "We have to get out of here!"__  
His eyes were already closed. Tears pooled in my eyes. It was the first time that I had ever cried for someone. The only person that had bothered to treat me like a human was dead. A kunai knife was stiking out of his chest. His blood was now pooling on the floor. _

_I stood in silence for a moment. _

_A piercing scream interrupted my prayers. If I didn't get out soon, I would die._

A few weeks later, a kind woman named Hana found me starving in the forest. She was kind to me; I was fed regularly, instead of when someone got around to it. For the first time in my life, I was actually happy. She didn't have to do that for me.

So I wasn't surprised when I became another outcast in another villiage.

_"Look at her hair! It's hidious!" one of the more popular girls my age said._

_"She's a freak!" Another taunted._

_Somehow, I ended up on the ground, the girls clawing at me and pulling out my hair._

_"I bet her mother was a demon!" one shrieked, I was sure it was their leader._

_Something welled in my chest. _Anger, _I realized. _

_The feeling grew, swelling into my throat. I could feel the anger throughout my body. In my veins._

_Before I knew it, the girls were screamig in terror. Fleeing. _

_"She's a demon!" _

_"Monster!" _

_That night, a crowd gathered around Hana's small house._

_"Get the monster out of our villiage!" They cried._

_Once the crowd was gone, I left. Hana wouldn't miss me, I had ruined her life enough. She didn't deserve that._

A tear escaped, running down my cheek. I couldn't tell if it was day or night.

_Naruto will be alright. _I assured myself. _Our efforts can't be in vain._

"Are you still there?" an unfamiliar voice said. Kisame walked into the room.

I ignored him.

"You'll be dead soon enough." he sneered, "We just have to capture your little friend."  
I snorted, "The whole villiage would die before you get him."

He turned around and walked out of the cave -- fuming.

_"What's your name?" A boy about my age asked._

_"Yei." I said quietly._

_"I'm Naruto Usumaki." he grinned, I wondered why he was being so kind. I was an outcast._

_"Where am I?" I wondered, I had been walking for days. Searching for food._

_"You're in Konoha!" he shouted. This kid was loud._

_"I should go." I started walking in the opposite direction, maybe I would die of starvation._

_"Where?" Naruto asked._

_"I don't know." I admitted, turning back around to face him._

_"You should come stay with me." he offered, "At least for the night." _

_The offer of sleeping on a surface with no bugs crawling around on me was too tempting._

_"I can't do that." I said, "What would your parents think?"_

_He was silent for a moment. "I don't have any parents." he said softly._

_"Neither do I." I said in spite of myself. We were alike in a way._

_"Please stay." he begged, "Just for the night."  
Ah. He was lonely. _

_I sighed, "Okay."  
Naruto's face brightened up immediately, "Let's go get some ramen first, 'kay?"_

_My stomached growled loudly -- he took that as a yes._

_And just like that, we had become friends._

"You should be hungry." Karin snickered from the other side of the cave.

"No. I've lost my apetite." I told her.

"We've almost got Naruto." she told me, probably bluffing. It had only been a few hours. It took days to get to Konoha.

"You're an idiot." I said, and then rested my head against the hard wall. I was weak from hunger.

She didn't have anything to say after that.

_It had been six months since I had come to live in Konoha. Long enough. From what I knew of the viliage hidden in the Leaves, it was very peaceful. It didn't need me to disturb it._

_That night, I waited until Naruto was asleep. It would be too hard to say goodbye._

_The moon was a sliver that night, only enough light for me to navigate my way through the city. I could feel the warm salty tears cascading down my cheeks. This was odd. I hadn't cried since the night that I escaped. This was another sign that I should leave. I had grown too comfortable here._

_Near the villiage gate however, I could hear two people talking._

_"That Naruto Usumaki is a monster. I don't see how the third Hokage even puts up with him." an old lady hissed._

_"We need to keep our children away." another woman agreed, "Everyone."_

_It was those words that convinced me to stay. Somehow, Naruto was an outcast. Just like me._

_We needed each other._

Besides_, I decided, _I would leave if anything strange happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So here's the 2nd chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Thank you for the reviews!**

* * *

To my relief, Karin was gone when I woke up. I didn't think I could handle her at the moment.

Sasuke slouched in the corner, probably wrapped up in his own thoughts.

I began to stretch out my legs -- which had begun to fall asleep -- but stopped when I ran into something hard.

It was a dusty clay plate. Resting on it was a small sliver of bread. I guess it was taking longer than expected to capture Naruto.

I devoured the morsel of food greedily.

My stomach made strange gurgling noises as it hit. It didn't feel as good as I thought.

I noticed Sasuke eying me from his corner of the cave. I scowled at him.

Right next to where the plate been, sat a glass of murky water. I drank that slowly, enjoying how it rinsed out the stale taste in my mouth.

I sat in silence for a moment, not content, but not dying anymore. Sasuke had left, I was now alone for the time being.

I started to pace around the small cave, stretching out my sore muscles. The ceiling was high, I could stand up straight without injuring my head.

I walked around in circles, until I heard footsteps.

Desperately hoping that it wasn't Karin, I slumped back down against the wall. Maybe if I pretended I was weak, I would have some chance of escaping.

_"Guess what everybody!" A pink-haired girl ran onto the playground. I think her name was Sakura._

_"What?" one of the girls asked.  
"I like Sasuke!" she exclaimed._

_I sighed, nothing new. I wondered why I had even bothered to come here. Playgrounds were stupid and pointless._

_I watched Sakura's face fall as she realized that almost every other girl was infatuated with him too._

_I had seen Sasuke on my way to the store. He was sitting alone on the dock that was part of the Uchiha estate. He looked alone. Like Naruto did sometimes. It was funny that they weren't friends, since they had so much in common._

_I watched him for a few minutes, until he saw me staring and glared at me. _

_What did the other girls see in him?_

It was around that time that we started training at the ninja academy. A landlord was kind enough to let me have my own apartment next to Naruto, in exchange for sweeping the floors every day in his daughter's shop. Iruka-sensei was nice enough, but some of his lectures were tedious. I often fell asleep during those ones. It was also around that time, when Naruto developed a crush on Sakura.

_"Hey," Naruto whispered loudly after one lengthy lesson on the history of the leaf villiage, "See that girl? The one with the pink hair?" _

_Right in front of us, was Sakura Harano. Probably the smartest girl in class._

_"Yeah." I said suspiciously, "What about her?"  
"I think I like her." he said, his ears were turning pink. _

_I snickered, "What, do you want me to tell her?" _

_His face turned even redder, "No!"_

A few years later, it was time for our graduation. I had managed to pass the exams barely. My hand signs needed some work. I was better at throwing things -- like kunai knifes.

Naruto failed, he still couldn't master the shadow clone jutsu. It was just too hard for him.

Or so I thought.

One of our sensei's -- Mizuki -- had tricked him into stealing a scroll from the Hokage. One that had all of the secrets of the Hidden Leaf Villiage. In exchange, he said, Naruto would become a genin.

It ended with Naruto saving Iruka-sensei. With the _multi_ shadow clone jutsu.

_My arms were sore. The old man's daughter had me restock the shelves over and over until everything was straight. It was driving me crazy!_

_"Yei!" said Naruto loudly._

_"What?" I said tiredly. And then I froze._

_Gleaming on Naruto's forehead, was one of the leaf villiage headbands.  
_

_"You're a genin?!" I said, barely containing my excitement, "But, how--"_

Naruto told me the story so many times, that my ears ached whenever I heard it.

He was so happy.

_"You will be put into groups of three..." Iruka said, I was barely paying attention._

_"There's no way I would be put into a group with you!" Ino hissed behind me, she was obviously hoping to be in the same group as Sasuke._

_"Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi." _

_I heard Ino make a disgusted noise. _

_"Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka." _

_I could see Hinata blushing a few seats ahead. _

_"Naruto Uzumaki..." Naruto's eyes were shut tightly, it looked like he was praying, "...Sakura Harano..." _

_"No!" Sakura whispered, Naruto perked up immediately._

_"...and Sasuke Uchiha." _

_Naruto groaned, and Sakura rejoiced. _

_"Hey! Why does a loser like him have to be in the same group as me!?"_

_"As I recall Naruto," Iruka said, "You had the lowest scores in the class."_

I was put into a group with two idiots. That was the only way to describe them. I can't even remember their names.

One was another Sasuke fangirl. I think she dropped out of ninja school to work for her uncle. The other was almost as lazy as Shikamaru, but not as smart. He was killed in a battle a few months ago.

It was inevitable that we would fail. My teammates were egotistical and weak, and I was convinced that I didn't need their help.

Apparently, that was the exact opposite of what we were supposed to do.

_"It's too bad." Shikamaru -- somehow we had become friendly with each other, "You'd be much more useful that Ino."_

I never minded being "rejected", I could always try again later.

And I was tired of fighting.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: For whoever has been reading this THANK YOU. Sorry it took so long to update. I hope you like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

* * *

"We've almost got him." I heard a voice say, "Konoha can't defend him much longer."

I could tell he was lying by the way the speaker's voice wavered. The Leaf Village was strong. They wouldn't let Akatsuki win without a fight.

I assumed there was a large battle going on.

"Karin." The person with the orange mask was saying -- Madara Uchiha, "You can guard the prisoner."

Ah, so they were leaving to fight in the battle.

Karin grumbled. I guess she wasn't too happy about guarding me. That was fine, with only Karin here, I could figure out a way to escape.

"Don't even think about anything." she said, "You know what I heard? Some of your friends have already died."

My stomach twisted uncomfortably. She was probably just lying.

_I stood in front of the Ninja Academy, watching the ninja enter. I was playing a game with myself; trying to guess who would survive the first round._

_So far, I was betting for Three scary-looking kids from the sand village, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke (of course), and a team from the hidden mist village. _

_"Hey Shikamaru." I greeted my lazy friend as he passed by with his team._

_"Hey." he looked surprised, "What are you doing here?" _

_I shrugged, "I was curious, and I wanted to wish Naruto good luck."_

_"Shikamaru!" Ino Yamanaka shrieked._

_Shikamaru sighed wearily, and started to walk into the Academy._

_"Good luck!" I called after him._

The next time I saw Naruto, it was after the preliminaries -- apparently they took place right after the "forest of death".

_"Darn that Kakashi!" Naruto fumed, "He'd rather train Sasuke than me!" _

_I sighed, "Maybe it's because Sasuke needs more help than you?"_

_He shrugged, "Whatever, now I'm stuck with this pervert." _

_I rolled my eyes, "He can't be that bad." _

So, as Naruto -- and everyone else -- trained, I had nothing to do. Occasionally I would help someone by sparring with them -- Shikamaru trained with me when Ino was working and Azuma and Choji had something else to do. I even came with Sakura to visit her new friend Rock Lee in the hospital -- he had been injured by one of the ninjas from the sand village that I had been betting on.

In fact, the only time I had ever seen Gaara before the attack on the village was in passing.

_As I walked back home, I wondered how Naruto was doing. He was paired up with Neji Hyuga for the final round. And he was going first._

_The wind rustled my hair as I walked. It would be time to cut it soon -- I had let it grow out so much that it was starting to get in my way. I had always liked short hair better--_

_In the middle of the road, there was a pile of sand. _

_Strange. _

_I stood there for a few moments, wondering if this was one of Konohamaru's mediocre plans. _

_"There's no sand in the leaf village." I said, just in case._

_Suddenly, the sand started moving on it's own. I watched as it was sucked into a huge gourd. _

_The gourd that was attached to Gaara's back._

_We stared at each other for a few moments. I've never seen so much hatred in someone's eyes before._

_I passed Gaara, starting to walk home again._

_I was terrified._

Shortly after, Konoha was attacked by the Sand and the Sound villages. That was the day when the Hokage died.

It was also the day, that I discovered the demon living inside of me.

Don't get me wrong, I always knew there was something there. The kyuubi even visited me in my sleep sometimes. I guess I just never became angry or weak enough to release it. Or, it was just a lazy demon.

_I was surrounded. The Leaf Village ninja that I had been fighting with were all unconscious. Or worse. _

_I didn't want to think about it. _

_"We've got you surrounded." one of the sound ninja rasped. _

_I didn't reply. If I became distracted now, this fight would be fatal. _

_My chakra had run out hours ago. I pulled a few senbon out of the pouch strapped to my leg._

_They laughed._

_Before I got a chance to attack, I was struck by something. My body was slammed against a tree like a rag doll. _

_Slowly, everything started to blur around the edges._

_"Finish her off." the leader said, "We need to go." _

**"What's going on?"**_ a voice said, it was unusually loud._

_"Mmph." I said._

**"Silly girl." the voice laughed, "Are you about to be killed?"**

_Ah, it was the monster inside of me. _

_Rage filled my body. It was more hate than I had ever felt in my life._

_The men were retreating. I laughed, they were all going to die. _

_In a flash, the men were on the ground. _

I can't remember very well what happened next, because my body was so exhausted.

When I woke up, the hokage was dead. The battle was over.

_Rain poured from the sky. It was weeping too._

_The whole village was gathered for the third hokage's funeral. _

_I stood by Shikamaru. A mixture of tears and water ran down my cheeks. I was glad for the rain. I hardly ever cried._

_We were all holding white flowers. I think mine came from some sort of thistle. _

_It was a horrible day for the whole village. I was glad when it was over._

_"Yei." Some of the teachers had pulled me aside when I was walking back from visiting Naruto, "You fought with all of the other genin a few days ago. It would be stupid not to make you a ninja."_

_And so, I became a genin._

Karin had long left the cave.

Maybe if I waited near the door, I could get out when it opened.

I could take Karin.

For the next few hours, I plotted my escape.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: For those of you that have been reading this far, thank you! :D Thanks for the reviews too, and I hope you like this chapter! Please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters. **

* * *

I ran my fingers against the wall of the cave. The entrance had to be close.

Karin had been gone for a few hours. Probably fuming because she didn't get to fight with the rest of the Akatsuki members.

I felt a sharp pain. I pulled my hand back to see a small gash on my finger. Blood dripped onto the hard floor, staining it. I tried to examine it closer in the dim light, but it was impossible.

I sat down near the other end of the cave. If I acted quick enough, maybe I could get to the entrance in time.

For now, that was the only plan I could come up with. My only hope.

_"Hey! Shikamaru!" I shouted._

_My friend turned around, his face looked uninterested, "What?" he said wearily. _

_"You're a chunin!"_

_Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and continued to walk down the road._

_I disappeared underground -- something I had learned to do when Iruka-sensei helped me learn what element my chakra was -- and appeared in front of Shikamaru._

_He balked, "Why are you always doing that?"_

_I shrugged, "It's fun."_

_We walked a bit further, me chattering about trivial things, Shikamaru listening quietly. _

_"So," he said, "Naruto's about to go train with that old pervert right?" _

_I snorted, "How do you know about that?"_

_But before Shikamaru could reply, we heard a loud yell._

_Everything was done when we arrived. Kakashi and Sasuke were on the floor, Naruto looked enraged, and Jiraya looked as if he was doing his best to sort things out._

_Naruto later told me that it had been two members from an evil organization called "Akatsuki". One of them, had been Sasuke's own brother._

_Itachi Uchiha. The one that slaughtered his own clan._

I sighed, when was Karin coming back?

I stood up and started pacing, how long had I stayed here?

I tried to remember. It had been evening when I had been captured, and it couldn't have been more than a few days.

Or weeks.

Shortly after Sasuke's encounter with Itachi, Naruto left for training.

Sasuke hadn't regained his consiousness yet. Sakura and Ino spent a lot of their time in the hospital visiting him. I remember going with them once, it was sad the way they looked at him.

_"I'm leaving." I said, after half an hour had passed, I didn't enjoy spending my time starting at the uncounsious body of someone I had never really liked. _

_Walking back to my home, I ran into Konohamaru. I saw him with Naruto a lot. Playing ninja, or something. _

_"Hello Konohamaru." I greeted him._

_He was crying._

_"Are you alright?" I said softly, the hokage had been his grandfather. Of course it would take more of a toll on him. _

_"I promised myself," he sniffled, "That I wouldn't cry."_

_"It's okay to cry, sometimes." I said, "You know it never stopped Naruto." _

_He snickered, "Yeah. I guess not." _

_And just like that, he was off again. Out to terrorize the village, I imagined. _

It took Naruto and his new sensei to return, but when they did, they brought back the new hokage.

I had heard of Tsunade-sama from Sakura once.

_She's the greatest medical ninja that ever lived." Sakura had said proudly, "And from the leaf village too." _

Tsunade was able to heal Sasuke and Kakashi. It was a miracle to see them awake from their sharigan-induced coma. Rock Lee was a different story. I had heard from Sakura a few days later that there was a way to heal him, but it was a difficult surgery that could be fatal if not preformed right.

_"I'm worried." she confided, "I mean, being a ninja is the only thing I can see Lee doing. But he could _die._"_

I did my best to console her, but my efforts were in vain. Thankfully, Lee _did _make it through the surgery, coming out good as new. But before that could happen, we lost something greater.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Don't get me wrong, I never really knew the guy. No one did really, except maybe Naruto. I was never too crazy about him either.

But when he deserted the village, I knew that I had to do whatever it took to get him back.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, I think the end is coming soon... maybe. Thank you for the reviews, I'm really surprised that I got any for this story. **

* * *

_Neji Hyuga lay in front of me. It took me a moment to realize that he wasn't dead, even though there was a thick hole through his chest. _

_"Someone!" I screamed, "I found another one!" _

_I watched the medical ninja move him gently onto a stretcher, and disappear into the trees, moving faster than usual. The ground was shaking under my feet. It took me a moment to realize that I was trembling. _

"No." _I thought, _"I need to keep going, who else might be dying?"

_I jumped to the next limb shakily, trying to regain my balance, and then ran full speed in the direction of my friends._

I was free.

The trees flitted beside me, blurred because of my speed. Karin was coming after me, and fast.

"I"ll get you!" she shrieked again, "You forget, I can sense your chakra!"

Yes, I had thought about that. I had figured out long ago that Karin had a limit. If I could just get another mile away, I could lose her.

The ground swallowed me up, and I began to travel, molding the dirt around my body. It was faster this way, I didn't have to worry about hitting trees.

It took Karin ages to come back. She must have been taking her anger out on the landscape. I could see giant crater-like holes in the ground a few miles away from my prison. I had waited for hours, crouching in the shadows near where I thought the entrance was -- It turns out I was a few yards behind. Finally, when Karin stumbled into the opening -- fatigued from her rage-issues -- I attacked.

I could tell that she was surprised. Whenever she saw me, I was usually slumped against the wall, or pacing.

I'll admit though, I was a little disappointed. Isn't a good ninja always supposed to watch your enemy?

Karin's yells became more muffled, and I could tell that I was losing her.

Good.

I traveled a few miles further, trying to stay as far away as I could get, and finally came to rest against a tree. My mind wandered, first concentrating on the gnawing hunger in my stomach, then wondering about my friends.

Are they okay?

Fatigued, I fell asleep.

_"Thank you." I said, "You don't know how grateful I am." _

_Gaara nodded, and then looked into the direction of the village, "Why are you so thankful? Your friends could be dead."_

_"Because," I explained, "With the sand ninja here, more of them could be." _

_The battle was over. At least the smaller ones -- if you can call them that. _

_Neji and Choji were in the hospital. It was unclear or not about whether they would live. Kiba had some deep wounds, but he would be okay. Shikamaru had only broken his finger -- in an attempt to be freed of a genjutzu. Lee was fine -- just a few scratches._

_"Where's Naruto?" I whispered, I already knew the answer._

_"He went after Sasuke." Shikamaru answered._

_From what I heard, Sasuke went mad. He popped out of the strange container that Orochimaru's minions were carrying him in, laughed, and then ran off. Naruto trailed behind him._

_"I hope he's okay." I said. _

A noise woke me up in the middle of the night. It was a sharp thud. Something that would send small rodents scurrying under a rock.

_Karin. _I thought immediately. She would take me back to the cave, and I would be trapped, more closely guarded than before. Of course, she wouldn't let any of the other Akatsuki members know about her little slip-up...

I heard a whisper. It sounded as if it was coming from a small child, about five or six years old.

I landed softly on the ground, trying to feel the vibrations in the earth. They led me to a small lump on the ground. I nudged it softly with my foot, wondering if it was a plan of Karin's.

"Mmph." the figure said. It _was_ a child.

I sighed in relief, it was just asleep. I could just leave before it woke up.

"Mom?" a girl's voice whispered.

Should I answer her?

"I'm sorry." I answered, as soft as she spoke, "I don't know where your mother is."

The girl woke up with a shock. I could see in the moonlight that her eyes were wide with terror.

I covered her mouth before she could scream.

"Shh." I said, "No one's supposed to know I'm here."

The girl nodded, "Please," she said, "You have to help..."

"Help with what?"

"My village..." she said, "Konoha is under attack. My mom got hurt bad."

"Don't worry." I said, "That's exactly where I'm going."

_Naruto rested in the flimsy hospital bed, covered in bandages. I had heard from Shikamaru that morning that he hadn't been able to bring Sasuke back. _

_My eyes stung, and I knew I was about to cry. How could Sasuke do this? Naruto had almost gotten himself killed in the process of trying to bring his best friend back. Why did everything have to be so... cruel?_

_"Yei?" Naruto whispered from under the bandages, "Is that you?"_

_"Yes." I whisper-choked, "How are you feeling?"_

_" 'm fine." he said, sounding annoyed, "Where is everyone?"  
_

_"They're probably asleep." I looked at the clock on the table, "It's seven o' clock in the morning, only Sakura would be up at this time on a Saturday." _

_He smiled at my weak attempt to make a joke, "I'm sorry." he whispered, I flinched, his voice was filled with anguish, "I wasn't able to bring him back. I'm a failure." _

_I shook my head, "No, Naruto." I said, "It's not your fault. You tried your hardest."_

_"Don't you get it?" he said, louder, "My best isn't good enough!" _

_I bowed my head, he couldn't see the tears that had now escaped my eyes, I had to be strong. _

_"You still have a chance." I tried again, "I heard Jiraya saying that it would take Orochimaru about three years to be able to get another body." _

_His face lightened up a tiny bit, "Yeah, I guess so." He paused, "But I'll have to train hard!" _

_"Just wait until you heal." I warned, not wanting to hurt himself in his new enthusiasm. _

And so he did train, we all did. While Naruto was gone with the toad sage, I continued to work on my earth manipulation. Sometimes, I would assist Tsunade on something -- I learned a bit of medical nin-jutzu in the process.

I took the chunin exam for the first time too. Sakura, Ino, and I went together -- because Naruto and Sasuke were gone from Sakura's team, Shikamaru had already become a chunin, and I didn't have a team -- and managed to pass. I think it was because we had weaker competition, Sakura thinks it was because we were stronger than the last time.

And the village wasn't under attack, that helped too.

I started to doubt my navigational skills.

"What's your name?" she had asked me earlier.

"Yei." I breathed.

"Doesn't that mean 'one who is thriving'?" she remarked, I could hear the skepticism in her voice.

"Yes," I sighed, "I think my mother named me that because she was either a cruel woman, or she wanted me to have hope for myself."

"You think?"

"I never knew my mother." I explained.

She was silent then, a few minutes later I heard her breathing slow.

Why had my mother named me 'Yei'? I had been told once -- through the bars of my small prison as a child -- that she had named me as a joke. Of course a monster like me would never "thrive". Or live a remotely happy life.

They were wrong. I had been happy once. That should be enough.

_I sat against the wall of the leaf hospital, exhausted. Tsunade had been working us to death. _

_Shikamaru passed by, he had probably just woken up._

_He smirked, "Hey."_

_I stuck my tongue out at him, even though I knew it was childish, "What are you doing?"_

_He sighed, "I'm supposed to meet someone from Suna today, she's helping with the chunin exams this year, and I have to be her guide."_

_"How troublesome..." I said sarcastically, "So, what time are you supposed to meet?"_

_"Noon... why?"_

_"You're two hours late!"_

_Shikamaru shrugged, and started walking in the same direction, "I guess I'll see you later then."_

_I rolled my eyes, I had heard from Tsunade that he would be a guide for Temari. She must have been trying to make it a surprise for Shikamaru. Ha._

I ran through the trees, the wind whipping through my hair. I was starting to recognize some of the trees here, that must be good.

Konoha couldn't be too far away.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you for reading this far! I hope you like the 6th chapter! I'm pretty sure I'm almost done! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters.**

* * *

It was dawn again, the sun was starting to rise out of the horizon, making some of the clouds turn a shocking red.

It would rain today. I had learned that from somewhere.

The girl -- her name was Mai -- had proved to be useful. She had a few coins in her pocket with which we used to buy a small lunch. She devoured it, while I relished mine. It was nice to have some different food once in awhile.

Once we were done, I set off again, with her on my back. She was a stubborn girl, refusing to let me leave her at the small restaurant -- somewhere safe. "I'm no coward." she said, and I couldn't argue with that. This girl was pretty brave.

It was harder to travel underground, but we managed.

"Once every thing's sorted out, we can figure out what kind of chakra you have." I hoped that would be possible.

_"Could you both retrieve something for me at the front gate?" Tsunade asked, she wore a sly grin on her face._

_I shrugged, "Sure."_

_Sakura bowed._

_"Hello Konohamaru!" Sakura said cheerfully, as we passed the young genin and his team. _

_They all greeted us cheerfully, still wrapped up in the glory of finally catching the estranged cat -- something that just about everyone had to do when they were genin.  
_

_"It's about time, isn't it?" Konohamaru said, "Naruto should be back soon!" _

_"You're right." I nodded, I had almost forgotten about my friend. I had been so involved in my training. _

_No one answered, after a few moments, I realized that they were staring at a tall figure in an orange jumpsuit. _

_"Naruto!" I shouted._

_Naruto was standing on a pole overlooking the whole village. He hadn't seen it in years. It was probably a little different. _

_I watched as he approached us -- Naruto had gotten taller. Sakura asked him something -- probably about how mature she looked now -- and Naruto ended up sprawling on the ground. _

_Sakura had gained Tsunade's strength -- and temper. _

_"I missed you." I grinned, "You're much stronger now, right?"_

_Naruto grinned right back, "I learned a bunch of new cool jutsu!"_

Naruto only got to enjoy the nostalgia of the village for only so long. It turned out that Gaara -- now the Kazekage -- had been taken by Akatsuki.

Apparently they were trying to take the demon out of him, to gain more power.

This frightened and enraged me. It wasn't Gaara's fault that he was stuck with a demon inside of him.

I knew exactly how that felt.

_Our small crowd of ninja watched as Naruto wept over Gaara's lifeless body. I knelt over his head, crying._

_He didn't deserve this. _

_"Relax, Naruto." Chiyo-sama whispered._

_"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed, his voice was choked with emotion, "If you shinobi of the sand hadn't put a monster in Gaara, nothing like this would have happened!" _

_Tears streamed harder down my cheeks, everyone stared at Naruto with wide eyes._

_"What is this 'jinchuuriki' anyway?!" He screamed,"You just arrogantly made up that word to call them!"_

_"Naruto..." Sakura whispered._

Gaara was able to live. Chiyo-sama used a special jutsu -- a life transferring one.

She was a true kunoichi. Something I would probably never become.

I was happy for Gaara, nonetheless. He deserved to be Kazekage.

He still does.

_"The new member of our team is such an a--"_

_"Naruto!" Sakura slugged him on the head, "Don't be rude!"_

_I snickered, Sai hadn't been very kind to Sakura either. I witnessed him calling her a 'dog'. _

_Shikamaru wasn't too fond of him either. I had heard that the new ninja had tried to attack him and Choji... or something like that._

_Sai was supposed to replace Sasuke. I could tell that this infuriated Naruto, he was going to get Sasuke back. There was no need to replace him. _

_At least, that's how it came across to me. _

The sun rested at the highest point in the sky. It was probably around one o' clock in the afternoon. I hoped that we were closer.

"Just how far did you get?" I complained as we rested.

"I don't know." Mai answered, "I just remember running really fast."

I sighed, exasperated, "I hope we're not going in the wrong direction."

We were silent for a moment.

"Who was that lady?" Mai asked, "The one that was chasing you?"

I felt my face darken, "Karin? We don't really get along well."

She was silent for another moment. I was glad she didn't ask "why?". How could I explain that they were after the monster inside of me?

"C'mon." I said, "Let's go. We need to get to the village by the end of the day."

_I sat at the front gate of the village, waiting. I had heard from Tsunade that Naruto and his new team were supposed to return from their mission today. _

_The mission that Naruto had been training for the past two years. The mission to bring Sasuke back to Konoha._

_I was surprised that when they returned without Sasuke, Naruto's face did not bear the expression of defeat. In fact, it was actually pretty cheerful._

_When I asked him why this was, he simply replied, "Crying and sitting around all day isn't going to get Sasuke back. I'm going to train even more, and get even stronger!"_

_Sai beamed -- something I had never seen him do in the short time I had known him, "We have another half a year left. Besides, three is better than two."_

_I smiled, "So you're getting along better now?"_

_Naruto grinned, "Yeah." _

It seemed like everything was going well for awhile. Sai was actually a pretty nice guy once you got to know him. Naruto had also started training harder than ever -- Kakashi and Yamato were teaching him a fast way to control his chakra. He wasn't the struggling boy I had known, he was stronger now.

_"Ugh!" I heard Kiba shouting once to Hinata, "It's like he's leaving us all in the dust!"_

But Kiba was always saying these things.

_"Where's Shikamaru?" _

_Choji looked around, "I went by his house, but his mom said he already left." he whispered._

_The whole village stood around Azuma's grave, mourning. Except for Shikamaru, who was nowhere to be found. __I silently stepped out of the crowd, ignoring the stares of my peers. _

_I found him watching the clouds, still wearing black. In his mouth, there was a cigarette._

_I coughed as soon as I sat down, giving myself away. He turned his head, there was an expression I had never seen before in his eyes. _

_"Where have you been?" I asked softly, "We were wondering..." _

_He blew some smoke out of his mouth, "I was thinking." _

_His voice was empty. _

_"Are you alright?" I whispered, "I've never seen you--"_

_"I'm fine." he said coldly, "Could you leave me alone? You're being troublesome." _

_I'm not sure why, but this offended me. More than anything else._

_"So I'm just supposed to stand around while you destroy yourself?" I said, my voice raising, "Ninja or not, we're still human. We don't have control over these things."_

_He didn't answer. _

_"But what we do have control over," I continued, "Is what we choose to do about it." _

_"Just go." he said, "I'm not sure why you're telling me this."_

_"No." I choked, "I don't know either." _

_And then I left. _

_It was the last time I saw Shikamaru._

"So." I said, Mai had gained enough strength to be running beside me, "Are you a genin yet?"

She grinned, "Nope! But I will be, one day..." she trailed off, and her expression became worried.

I followed her gaze, and realized that she was staring at Konoha.

It was worse that I had imagined.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, I think there's only going to be one more chapter after this one, and MAYBE an epilogue. But I'm not really sure yet. P Thank you for reading this far! And thanks for the reviews! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

* * *

Shikamaru and I didn't talk much after that. There wasn't much else to say.

It wasn't long after that, when I started to lose control. I didn't understand it at first, one moment I would be running an errand, the next I would be standing in the middle of a smoking, crater-sized hole. With no one in sight.

_"It's probably just stress." Tsunade said, "Try taking some time off."_

_"How can I do that?" I argued, "When Sasuke's in trouble, Akatsuki's after Naruto and I, and..."_

_"Shikamaru still isn't talking to you?" Tsunade offered, unsuspecting._

_I'm not really sure what happened next. Something, a hatred so strong that it made my lungs ache, rose from somewhere inside of me. _

**"Kill." **

_I screamed in agony, it felt like my head was about to burst. I could hear faint screaming, was someone in danger? _

_When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Sakura was standing over me, letting chakra leak from her hands into my body. _

_"What happened?" I murmured, "How did I end up here?" _

_Sakura smiled wearily, "I heard you lost control for a moment there." _

_The back of my eyes tingled, "Yeah." I said, "The monster inside of me tried to escape." _

Everyone knew that I was like Naruto in a way, but they never really mentioned it that much. I didn't talk about it either.

I guess I was ashamed. Being a container for a demon had never been a good thing in my eyes.

I stopped going on missions for awhile. I had heard from Sakura that Shikamaru had finally avenged Azuma. Two more Akatsuke members had been killed.

_"That's good." she said cheerfully, "Less people to deal with." _

The "attacks" (as Tsunade called them) only grew worse, and more common. I couldn't understand it.

One moment I'd be talking with someone or running an errand, and then the next moment I'd be on the ground, in the center of a huge crater-sized hole.

Even though I hadn't been improving much, I was still able to do one thing.

I was there the last time we tried to get Sasuke back.

_A thick bolt of light shot out of the ground about five hundred yards away. _

_"That's where Sasuke is!" someone shouted._

_"What are we waiting for?" said Naruto, "Let's go!" _

Our efforts were in vain. There was no way to reach him. Tobi -- that strange guy with the pumpkin mask -- ended up blocking our way.

And when the battle was over, Sasuke was no where to be found. It was as if he had destroyed his only brother, and then left.

When we finally returned to the villaged, Naruto was faced with some bad news.

Jiraya had died. But with his death, he had left clues. To what, I never had the chance to figure out.

My "attacks" kept coming. Every time I experienced one, they became worse, and more often.

Finally, I decided to leave the village. I had decided a long time ago, that when the time came that I was destroying things -- hurting other people, that I would leave.

I shouldn't have to cause other people problems.

_Tears streamed down my face as I packed. I had only a few belongings: a picture of my friends, some senbon, the few coins I had saved up, a necklace that Sakura had given me for my birthday last year, and my headband. Before I left, I scrawled a quick note, and left it on Naruto's doorstep._

_I hoped I wouldn't become a wanted ninja. That would only complicate things. _

_The tears came down harder as I walked out of the gate, turning the dust to mud. I would never see my village again. My friends. _

_It was for the best. _

I wandered around for awhile, going from town to town. Only stopping long enough to get some rest, and maybe earn some money.

But one day, I found something that changed the way I thought.

_My feet ached._

_I had been walking around for what seemed like days. Finally, I found a large cave that I could sleep in for the night. _

_I stepped inside. It was a bit damp, but I could manage. I traced my hand along the wall, the cold rock felt nice on my hand. Suddenly, my hand traced over something different. When I decided to take a closer look, I found something interesting. Wedged into a crevice of a stone cave I was passing, I found a note:_

**_Dear stranger, _**

**_I'm about to die. I know that much. Akatsuki has kidnapped me, and has taken me here. I'm not really sure what's going on, except that they want the demon inside of me. _**

**_You see, my name is Saki, and I'm the seven-tailed jinchuuriki. _**

**_I'm sure those who have heard of jincuuriki cringe at the thought of us "demon containers". I've been called a monster many a time in my life. _**

**_I'm writing this letter to break the stereyotype. _**

**_We're people too. Just look at Gaara of the desert, he was able to become Kazekage because his people finally accepted him. I hoped to become like Gaara, but since it's clear now that that future is nonexhistent, I guess that's okay too. _**

**_If you know someone named Rin from the Village Hidden in the Mist, please tell her "thank you". She has proven to me that there is hope for us. _**

**_Thank you for reading. _**

**_Love, Saki_**

_As soon as I finished reading it, I broke down. Homesickness flooded through my body. I couldn't stop thinking about Saki. What kind of girl had she been? What had this "Rin" done to make her see meaning in life? _

_My heart ached for the girl. _

_That morning, when I woke up, something didn't feel right. _

_I ignored this feeling. It would pass with time._

_I hoped. _

_Before I left, I folded the weathered note, and slipped it into my bag. I would have to get this to Naruto somehow. _

Sadly, I was unable to get it to Naruto. That day, I was captured by Sasuke. And Akatsuki.

"It's..." I trailed off, Konoha was in pieces, it was even worse than when the Third Hokage died.

I watched silently as familiar ninja defended the village with their lives.

Soon, I would be part of the battle.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter! :D I'll try to spell "jutsu" right in this chapter! (thank you for pointing it out)**

**The next chapter will be the end! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

* * *

I could feel the chakra, the hatred, pulsing around my body like a shield.

Mai shouldn't be seeing this.

**"AAAAARRRGH!" **I screamed, why couldn't I have found Naruto first?

We had been heading to the village -- me looking for somewhere safe that Mai could go -- when we ran into Kisame.

_"Now how did _you _get out?" he smirked, showing his pointed teeth. I could feel Mai shudder behind me. _

_Before I could answer, he sent a huge wave at me with his sword._

The hatred was overwhelming. Worse than ever.

"Yei!" Mai screamed, "What's--?!"

She flew back, as a wave of my chakra hit her square in the chest.

"Not so gentle now, are we?" Kisame taunted, leaning against a tree, "Why can't you just learn your place?"

**"Because," I roared, "I finally figured out--"**

Something fast and silver flew through the air. That was the one good thing about being a jinchuuriki; everything was slower than it seemed.

Naruto jumped out of the bushes, looking far more mature than I had ever seen him... and a bit like a toad.

"Yei." he panted, "What are you doing here?"

The monster inside of me froze. _Naruto_... who was that again?

"Yei." he tried again, "Calm down..."

**"NO!" **

Another wave was thrown at us, stronger than before. I tried to reach for Mai, but the deadly chakra surrounding me made it impossible. Naruto saw what I was trying to do, and removed the girl before she could be harmed anymore.

"What a happy reunion." Kisame murmured, "Too bad it all has to end..."

I don't know what happened then. Just that, something inside of me suddenly snapped.

These people... this whole _village, _they were my family. I couldn't let them be harmed.

The demon in my body exploded, it was free for the moment. I felt my explode, and transform into a gruesome creature that I had seen only in my nightmares.

I could feel the demon inside of me direct its attention over to my friends, thinking.

_"Don't hurt them." _the puny human inside of me whispered.

Kisame was smiling. This only enraged us even more.

**"Get out of my way." **

When I woke up, I was me again.

Kisame was gone. I didn't know what happened. When I tried to stand up, my skin burned like fire. It wasn't fully healed yet.

"Yei?" Naruto was standing over me, his face worried, "I thought you were dead."

"Where's Mai?" I whispered, "Is she okay?"

Naruto's face looked pained, "She's pretty hurt, but I think she'll be okay. Someone is taking her to the mountains right now."

A lump swelled in my chest, rising to my throat, what if I had killed her?

Naruto left, he said that the village needed as much help as it could get.

"I'll be there as soon as I can walk." I promised.

It took awhile for my skin to return to its normal hue. Enough time for me to see Kisame's lifeless body flung over a tree limb, and Tsunade fighting Pein in the distance.

I left as soon as I could move my legs, the pain was excruciating, but I could manage.

Something on my way stopped me.

Shikamaru was panting, leaning against a tree. It took me a moment to register what I was seeing.

"Yei?" he whispered, "Was that you?"

He was pointing to a huge crater.

"Yeah." I tried to laugh, but ended up doubling over in pain.

"Thank you." he said, "I didn't think you were coming back, someone had told me that you had already been captured."

We were silent. Even though the village was under attack, we could still be awkward.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru." I said quietly.

"Me too, Yei."

Before we could say anything else, another voice interrupted us.

"Still hiding, Shikamaru?"

I turned around to see Temari -- Gaara's sister. Behind her, stood a whole army of Sand ninja.

Shikamaru's face turned into a smirk, "What are you doing here?"

Temari rolled her eyes -- it was obvious that they liked each other, "You aren't going to thank me for helping your village?"

Temari explained that Gaara was coming too, but alone. Kankuro was in charge of another army that was coming to aid the other side of the village.

A small bubble of hope rose in my chest, maybe we could fix this.

Maybe everything would end up okay.

"Are you coming, Yei?" Shikamaru said.

His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Shikamaru was smiling, waiting for me.

I grinned, "Let's go."

Before I took a step, however, I remembered something. Reaching into the pouch that was attached to my leg -- the one that had been emptied of all kunai knifes and senbon -- I pulled out my headband; tarnished and scratched to the point that it was almost unrecognizable.

"You know," said Shikamaru, "You can get a new one of those..."

"Nah." I said, "This ones fine."

And then, we were running at top speed. The fiery pain left over from my transformation now only felt like pinpricks. This pleased me, I probably had more stamina now too.

Perfect.

In the most non-sarcastic way possible.

The sand ninja behind us sped up, leaking into the city. Some were medical nin, finding the wounded, and healing them as good as possible. The majority, however, were elite jonin and chunin.

Gaara had done well.

I navigated my way through the crowd of our allies -- and enemies, it seemed that Akatsuki had gathered an army too -- searching for Naruto.

_"He's my father, you know." _

_I followed Naruto's gaze, until my eyes rested upon the face of the forth Hokage carved into the mountain._

_"They didn't want me to know," he whispered, "that he sacrificed his own son for the village. He loved it that much."_

_We were sitting against the tree, waiting for my body to heal from my fight with Kisame._

_"A true shinobi." I whispered, "That's what he was."_

_Naruto smiled, "Yeah." _

_But I could hear the anguish in his voice._

_"Naruto," I said, "I'm sure if there was any other way, that would have been what your father decided. If there was any way to keep you from being..." I paused, what were we called?_

_"You're a true shinobi, too." I said, "Just like your father."_


	9. Chapter 9

"Gaara."

A clever wall of sand had just stopped about fifty senbon from hitting me.

Standing a few feet away, with his arms crossed menacingly, stood the Kazekage.

"Watch out." he warned, and proceeded to capture and crush the enemy in front of us.

"Thanks."

I was running again, dodging the various weapons that were flying through the air at an alarming rate. The six-tails wasn't dormant today, it gave me strength.

Still, I wouldn't be able to go on much longer.

I observed the fight between Pein and Tsunade from afar. They looked like they were on their last reserves of strength.

I watched in shock, as Tsunade fell to Pein's final blow to her chest. But as the Hokage fell, so did her opponent.

She had saved more lives, in exchange for her own.

Anguished cries rang out through the village. The Hokage was dead.

A single drop of rain landed in the dirt. More followed, until it was pouring. Even the sky was weeping.

But the fighting continued. The village used our leader's death as inspiration. We wouldn't let the great Tsunade die in vain.

When we were children, Naruto had always had this dream.

To become Hokage.

_"Why do you want to be hokage so much, Naruto?" I asked, "Why not settle with being a chunin?"_

_Naruto looked at me with pride-filled eyes, "Because I want to be the best. I will prove to the village that I can be somebody! Not just this..." he trailed off._

_I wanted to explain to him that that wasn't how the world worked. That people... _things _like us had no purpose except to be failures. That we were even _lucky _to have a place where we were accepted -- in a way. _

_But Naruto looked so happy, so I decided not to crush him -- not that I would have if I had told him the truth, he was much too obstinate. _

_So instead, I opened my mouth and said, "I believe in you, Naruto." and smiled._

_It's funny how true that turned out to be._

Shikamaru was outnumbered. Surrounded. It was nearly impossible for him to see all of the enemies through the falling rain, and the clouds were too dark for him to use his specialty -- the

And then he saw it. A large glint of silver, flying straight for his chest.

It was flying so fast, that he didn't even have time to think.

Shikamaru closed his eyes, so this was how it was gonna end, huh?

But instead of the sharp, unbearable pain, he felt nothing. At first, he assumed he was in heaven. That the enemy decided to kill him quickly.

But then, why was it still raining?

That's when he realized.

_"Yei." _

_I had been sitting on one of the abandoned swings, waiting for Naruto to come out of one of his many genin-level missions. A girl about my age stood in front of me._

_"Your name's 'Yei', right?"_

_I looked into her wide hazel eyes, expecting to find hatred, but there was nothing. _

_She shifted from foot to foot nervously, "Me and the other kids were just wondering... do you want to play with us today?"_

_My body stiffened. I hadn't been expecting this._

_"Uh..." I mumbled, "Alright."_

_The girl smiled, "Well, come on!"_

I felt a sharp pain in my back.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

"Yei!" a familiar voice cried, I wondered why everything was so dark.

_Shikamaru. _Something told me, _It's Shikamaru._

Something wet and warm trickled down my back, getting thicker every second. My body was slowly going in to shock, I could tell this wasn't just an ordinary injury.

"Hold on Yei! Sakura's on her way! Don't leave me!" he pleaded.

"Shikamaru." I whispered, something pulled inside of me.

It hurt.

"Are you okay" I said softly.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks. Why was he crying?

"Don't cry." I said, "It's... okay."

He looked at my back.

There was a shuriken sticking out of my back. I could see it through my stomach.

It was a miracle that I was still alive.

**"No." **the beast snarled, **"You can't die."**

It started to rain even harder -- if that was possible. The rain washed over my body, mixing with the blood, carrying it further away from me.

I had always liked rain.

"Yei." my best friend whispered, "Why..."

"Because I love you Shikamaru." I answered, "You're like a brother to me."

I was kneeling in a pool of my own blood, there was too much of it on the ground.

So this is the end.

And so, I stayed like that. Long enough to see another member of Akatsuki -- Konan -- fall.

Long enough to see a familiar raven-haired man arrive just in time. To help Naruto.

"Sasuke." I coughed. Good, Sasuke was back.

A warm feeling rose in my chest, and kept growing until it had spread into my fingertips and the bottom of my feet. It was the strongest emotion I had felt in years.

**"Hope."**

_Yes. _I thought, _There is hope for Konoha._

Slowly, my thoughts grew more cloudy and muddled. The feeling of hope slowly disappeared, replaced by an even stronger emotion.

Peace.

My vision became black, and my life ended.

* * *

_A small girl sat on the top of a hill. Silent tears ran down her flushed cheeks. The ruined village of Konoha was in front of her, every unbearable inch. She watched the now small population return to their homes. They looked like ants. Sometimes, one would see a corpse -- probably of a friend or a loved one. She watched as the tiny figure would fall to their knees._

_Pain. She had had enough of it for a life time, and she was only six._

_The young hokage watched the girl, a few steps away. He knew how hard it was to lose someone; how even harder it was to lose many -- almost half of the village._

_"Mai." he whispered, "You've been sitting there for days." _

_She turned her head, away from the village, "I can't go down there."_

_"Believe it or not," he said, "But the main evil is gone. They will never return." _

_She looked into the wise eyes of the hokage, "But..." she whispered, "so many people..."_

_A great sadness rose in Mai, filling up her whole body. It hurt._

_"She told me," Mai sobbed, rubbing her swollen eyes, "That everything would be okay! But I didn't think it would hurt this bad!"_

_The hokage was overcome with emotion, like he was constantly as a child, "Life is hard." he agreed, "Sometimes you don't think you'll ever make it."_

_She looked at him in confusion._

_"But," he went on, "Time still marches foreward. And wounds heal over time." Naruto grinned, "At least, that's what a very wise ninja told me."_

_Naruto sat down beside her, looking at the sunset that turned the clouds a mellow orange._

_"A true shinobi."_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Ahh, I'm sorry it took so long to update this! I hope you liked the ending, and I'm sorry I had to kill Yei off in the end. That was just how I had been planning it from the start. v_v; Please tell me what you think, and if half of it's incomplete please tell me. D: **

**Thank you!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. :D  
**


End file.
